Something Hurt, Something Wild
Summary Plot The Cartwrights welcome Laurie Ferguson, daughter of a friend and neighboring landowner to The Ponderosa, from living with her grandmother for a few years. But soon into the episode Laurie is flirting with Joe Cartwright until he leans in to kiss her. She begins hitting him and screaming, completely unprovoked. When her father Jed Ferguson and Cleve Ferguson immediately run out, they assume Joe has attacked Laurie. This causes trouble between the Fergusons and the Cartwrights, as the Fergusons put up a fence making it difficult for the Cartwrights to reach the North end of the property. The Fergusons then warn the Cartwrights that there will be violence if they cross the fence. Jed Ferguson tries to talk to Laurie and brings up her mother. Laurie's face distorts and she quickly becomes emotional telling her father repeatedly to stop bringing up her mother. She then goes into the family stable and flirts briefly with Brett, a young man working for her father. When he leans in towards her she suddenly changes in mood, becoming hostile and threatens him to leave from the property. Later when she's riding her horse near the property fence line she sees Joe, who has been waiting for her to clear up what happened between them. She seems sweet at first and completely in denial, but in a moment recalls a memory and her eyes become distant for a few seconds before becoming hostile once again hitting Joe. Later her father, Jed, rides to the Cartwright's to tell Ben to keep Joe away from Laurie. Before Ben can explain or ask about Laurie's strange behavior, Jed rides away. Later Stark, another man working for the Cartwrights spots Laurie sitting alone in a field reading. He aggressively tries to flirt with her saying that he's a 'man who knows how to treat a woman', and that he doesn't 'care much what she thinks or wants' he then grabs her by the arm when she tries to leave; she grabs his pistol, shoots him in the gut, and rides off for home. Joe and Hoss find the man and gather him on a wagon. Meanwhile at the Ferguson's Laurie cries out and collapses outside. Her father brings her inside the house and tries to talk to her but she refuses to speak. He goes outside to try and find his son but no one is around, leaving him the responsibility of going into town to find a doctor. However before he saddles up his horse in the stable, Laurie appears with a rifle. She threatens to shoot her father if he moves. Jed tries to get her to understand that he is her father and does not intend to harm her. She begins to cry saying that she believes he cheated on her mother as she was dying. But Jed tries to get her to understand that he was just friends with a woman, who was also her mother's friend as well. It's not till Joe Cartwright enters the stable to ask her if this story was what her Grandmother told her. "Did she fill you with all this hatred for men?" He then goes to list how her father never remarried, how he worked himself hard to build a home for her and her brother, and how he couldn't wait to have her back home. Joe then takes the gun and she goes to her father weeping. The episode ends here... Cast The Cartwrights * Lorne Green: Ben Cartwright * Dan Blocker: Hoss Cartwright * Michael Landon: Little Joe Cartwright Category:Season 8 of Bonanza